Illinois Head Start Association - Event Information
Event Name:
When Picky Eating Is More Than Picky: Mealtimes with Autistic and Sensory Kids in Head Start
Event Type(s):
Education, Disabilities, & Coaching Early Head Start & Home Visiting Health, Safety & Nutrition Family Service Specialists, Workers & Advocates
Description:
Day after day, Head Start educators and health managers encounter children who dread lunchtime - not out of stubbornness, but because eating is genuinely hard for them. The word "picky" flattens complex feeding challenges into a single frustrating label that tells us what we see, not why it is happening. Participants will:
Unpack the six underlying drivers of avoidant eating - from sensory processing and autism-related rigidity to oral motor difficulties and adult-led pressure responses - and understand why a single observation is rarely enough to identify the cause.
Explore how to distinguish typical developmental food selectivity from presentations that warrant a referral, and how to escalate feeding concerns to a health manager or specialist.
Walk away with at least three classroom-level strategies that reduce mealtime distress for sensory-sensitive and neurodivergent children, plus concrete language shifts educators can use starting Monday morning.
